A Reason to Live
by Blu Rose
Summary: [Twoshot, SakuSasu, NaruSaku] When his only reason for living is killed and he's still alive, what will Sasuke do with his life? And how can Sakura help? [COMPLETE!]
1. Chapter 1

**This would be the result of being bored in school with nothing to do in school. The original title was simply "Hope," but that sucked, so I went with this one. Another Sakucentric story--God, I think she's my all-time favorite in Team 7 now--and NaruSaku, SasuSaku. Especially post timeskip.**

**Nyah, I feel as though I'm experimenting with more _stuff_ for Naruto X. Character deaths, Orochimaru dies, Sasuke returns, Naruto and Kakashi have died--only difference is that I've finally remembered about Akatsuki and Sai and Yamatao now... I'm not a bad person--it's just that after reading that part in the Naruto manga where SPOILERSAsuma diesSPOILER, I remembered that the whole ninja thing is dangerous. No one can escape death--not even the main characters!! Thus, I'm just killing off random people because...I feel like. Not a good reason, but, don't yell at me for killing of your favorite character!!**

**Er, anyway, enjoy the fic.**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in anyway. I'm just writing this story to stretch my imagination a bit._

_WARNING: CHARACTER DEATHS AND CURSING ARE IN THIS FIC!! DARE TO READ!!! (...Actually, go on ahead!)_

**X-X-X**

Stupid Akatsuki... Stupid Orochimaru snake-freak... Stupid stubborn-assed Sasuke. Idiot Naruto...! It was all their goddamn fault!! If Sasuke was conscious, she'd hurt him so badly that Itachi would seem like a harmless kitten compared the raging pink-haired kunoichi! She'd take her aggression out on Sai as well, as soon as he got better. He had frightened her back there, getting such a critical wound, but he would live--and he'd pay. And Naruto...oh, she couldn't forget Naruto. If not for the fact that he was lying on the ground, on the edge of life or death, she'd have already beaten him into a bloody pulp _begging_ for his Sakura-chan's mercy! Yes, she would pound on all three of those morons to within an inch of their lives, heal them, then pound on them, and repeat the process over and over until the backup group had come or her anger was gone.

But beating the tar out of Naruto was out of the question. The blonde wasn't moving anymore. His chest wasn't going up and down, signaling his breathing. Her hands felt cold from touching his chest. Naruto was... He was...

"No..." Sakura held back a sob, fought back the tears that began to well up in her eyes. "You can't, Naruto. You just... You promised...we'd all go back together...!" Sakura's callused hands touched his cheek. She had been praying that he would live. She worked on him until her fingers bled, until she wasted almost all of her remaining chakra to heal his wounds. After a while, she began to curse the bastards of Akatsuki, the fucking Snake Sannin, that damn jackass of an Uchiha that she once claimed he loved, and even the demonic Kyuubi that was partly, if not fully, the reason for Naruto's death.

The pink-haired kunoichi couldn't hear the approaching backup team from Konoha. She couldn't hear Yamato asking her what had happened, or the female ANBU who was trying to calm her down while the Medic-nins began to work on Sai. One proclaimed that Sasuke was still breathing and Yamato left her side, but Sakura could care less. All she saw was her dead teammate's body as hot tears streamed down her cheeks and fell onto his face.

**X-X-X**

Naruto was gone. The blonde had no specific things to say about his funeral--such as where he should be buried or on what sort of day because he never expected to die so young. No one had. Tsunade wanted to hold an honorable funeral, one fit for a hero. Naruto was like a second little brother to her, and after what he had done for her it was the least she could do. While few people came except maybe the old Rookie Nine, Team Gai, Iruka, Jiraiya, and even Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, word soon spread about what he'd done. Sacrificing his life to save the village... Some said good riddance, while others had a change of heart and thought the demon fox boy was not so much a demon after all.

Sai couldn't attend the service, sadly. He was in intensive care and couldn't come out for months. However, he passed the time by drawing and reading. He even told Sakura that he managed to make conversation with one of the nurses--though it was a short one. Maybe there was hope for Sai yet

Sasuke...had 7 years in prison, 2 years of parole and a year of community service. His ninja license had been revoked, and he wouldn't get it back until Tsunade had felt he'd regained the trust of Konohagakure. Originally, he was either going to have 10 years in prison, 5 on parole and 3 on community service and a permanently revoked ninja license _or_ execution. Sasuke chose execution. When Itachi had died, his purpose in life had died as well, and the Uchiha thought he had no reason to live anymore. Sakura, however, somehow managed to convince the Godaime Hokage to reconsider and let Sasuke live.

"Something such as the Sharingan shouldn't be wiped out completely. It would be useful to Konoha."

"Sakura..." Tsunade rubbed her temples before setting her honey-colored eyes on her second apprentice. "I can't just let Sasuke off scot-free. He betrayed this village and sided with one of our greatest enemies. He killed his own friend out of anger--you were there, you saw it! He has to pay for his crimes, one way or another!"

"Th-then... Then let _living_ be his punishment! Let him live with his wrongs. Lock him for a while, revoke his ninja license or make him do community service for years!! But please...don't take him away!! He's all I have left, now!" Sakura shouted.

"It's not that easy, Saku--"

"It's what Naruto would've wanted..."

The Godaime's honey-brown eyes widened for a second, but soon her serious face came on again. Sakura bit her bottom lip as Tsunade said, "I'll see what I can do..."

Her pink-haired apprentice smiled, and then bowed. "Thank you...Tsunade-sensei..."

**X-X-X**

Sakura hadn't seen Sasuke for 10 years, 4 months and an odd number of days. ...Not that, you know, she was keeping count or anything. But she was very sure that she saw him months ago, delivering newspapers to several homes as part of his community service. Her apartment never got a newspaper until some time in the afternoon, after she had left. Was Sasuke...avoiding her? She saved him from execution and wanted him to remove the stains both he and his brother put on their clan name...and he has the audacity to not even come up to her and say a simple "Thank you"?! Just because Tsunade had added a couple of months to his community service, that didn't mean he should take it out on her, too! Unless...

_'Maybe he really **does** want to die...and he's upset at me because I prevented that.'_

**"That bastard!!! He's whining because Naruto accidentally killed Itachi when he was transformed?!! He needs to grow up be glad _he's_ alive!"** Inner Sakura shouted, causing her outer half to stop walking and blink. It had been a long time since that part of her had spoken. Ever since she began training with Tsunade, bits and pieces of her inner self became part of her normal personality until she found herself acting like Inner Sakura at times. Hearing her again was a big surprise.

_'It **was** an accident. If Orochimaru told him that Naruto gets out of control when he goes over his three-tailed form...'_

**"I say if he wants to die so badly, we should kill 'em ourselves. It's not like he's got a reason to live anymore."**

As much as she hated to admit this, Inner Sakura was right. When they were genins, Sasuke stated he had two goals alone in life: kill Itachi and revive the Uchiha clan. The latter goal was forgotten when he went to Orochimaru. He'd have given up his body just to kill his bastard brother--it was like he didn't care if he simply desecrating the once honorable Uchiha name and putting his deceased family to shame. But Itachi was dead, now, and Sasuke was still alive and in control of his own body. The problem was that he didn't know what direction to go in next.

_'But Sasuke's hard to turn. It might be hard to convince him to do something if he doesn't want to do it...'_ "Hm?" Sakura blinked. Somehow, she had wound up in front of Sasuke's house in the Uchiha section. Her feet must've carried her here subconsciously. Or maybe it was some sort of higher power. The Uchiha probably wasn't in his house anyway--

"What are you doing here?" A deep voice asked her. The pink-haired kunoichi spun around and came face-to-face with an ANBU wearing a bird mask.

"Um... Nothing." Sakura leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. "..._Neji_? What are _you_ doing here?"

"I asked you first."

"Well, I just...found myself walking here and I wound up in front of here."

"...Right..." Even if he was wearing a mask, the pink-haired kunoichi swore the Hyuga prodigy was arching an eyebrow. He turned around as if to leave.

"But-- Wait! You haven't told me why _you're_ here!"

Neji turned his head to look at Sakura. "I'm looking after Uchiha to make sure he won't try anything--Hokage-sama's orders." He spoke stiffly. He was annoyed because it was simply repetition with the traitor. If he wasn't doing community service, he simply locked himself up inside that house or trained (thought he couldn't see the point of that since he wasn't a ninja for the time being).

"Ah..." The medic-nin rubbed her chin in an intellectual manner. "From the tone in your voice, I take it it's just you alone?" She giggled after Neji gave a grunt, which probably meant, "Yes."

"...You want to see him, don't you?"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked.

If his mask wasn't on, one would see the brunette Hyuga smirk. "Don't lie to me. The tone in your voice says it all."

**"DAMN YOU, Hyuga, you smug bastard!!!"** Inner Sakura shouted as she punched the air several times. **"Damn you to hell!!!"**

**X-X-X**

The moment that Sakura saw Sasuke, Inner Sakura was saying things so perverted that would make the deceased Kakashi blush. His looks had not changed much, except for the fact that she now had to look up at him. Years ago, she was only a couple of inches shorter than him. Now she only measured up to his chest. But he still looked at her with that blank stare, so she couldn't tell _what_ he was thinking about seeing her again. His eyes held no hostility or anger or sadness. His eyes, his face were all blank.

Sakura would've sworn he'd at _least_ notice that she had a bigger...er...rack than before. Hey, she didn't have a few male admirers for her smarts and strength alone.

"So, Sasuke-kun...how have you been?"

"Fine."

"That's...good."

**"Why didn't he learn how to speak more in prison?!"** Inner Sakura shouted. **"I hope nothing happened to him in there, like some man trying to--"**

_'I'M NOT LISTENING!!!'_ Sakura shouted, drowning out the rest of her demented inner self's answer. She took a few steps closer to the Uchiha and sat down next to him on his bed. "How come you haven't come to see me? I was...wondering if you knew I was still alive."

"...I knew." He muttered as he rubbed the spot where that accursed mark of Orochimaru's once was.

"I was also wondering... What are you going to do when you get your ninja license back, Sasuke-kun?" Would he suddenly remember about his second dream and set off to impregnate any girl he deemed worthy? ...Maybe. _'And the poor girl he's chosen will have a loveless marriage while churning out little Uchiha bastards into the world.'_ The pink-haired woman stifled a giggle, which caused Sasuke to arch an eyebrow. "Um, sorry. I'm just...thinking of something."

**"Smooth one."**

_'Quiet, you...!'_ "So, what are you going to do?" She repeated.

"I..." Sasuke paused and looked at the ground, as if he didn't know the answer. "...I honestly don't know."

**X-X-X**

For the next few days, Sakura would think about Sasuke for a few split seconds. Without his reason to live, what would he do with his life? Simply becoming a killing machine? A tool for Konoha? That didn't seem right. He deserved to feel emotion outside of missions--to feel like a normal human again. Tsunade had informed her that she was planning to give him the opportunity to move up to Chunin when she gave him back his ninja license--which would be a few days from now, but that couldn't be enough.

As the pink-haired kunoichi was leaving the hospital, a few minutes after her shift had ended, she noticed someone was leaning against the wall near the gate. Her eyes widened as she came close enough to see who it was. "Sasuke?" She didn't even notice she dropped the 'kun'. "What are you doing here?" The sun was beginning to set and soon night would fall on Konoha.

The raven-haired man pushed himself off the wall with his arms still folded across his chest and eyes closed. "I've decided."

"Huh?" Sakura blinked. "Decided what?"

"What my next goal is going to be."

After a few seconds, she began to smile. "Ah, that's wonderful, Sasuke-kun! What are you going to do?" She couldn't help but give a bigger smile. Sasuke had decided to try _living_ for once since his clan had been killed.

"After I get back my ninja license, I'm going to revive the Uchiha clan."

_'I knew it!'_ Sakura cheered inwardly.

"And you're going to help me."

The cherry blossom-haired woman blinked in confusion as she stared at her ex-teammate. "H-huh?"

"Marry me, Sakura." He wasn't even asking. It sounded more like an order.

Those next couple of seconds, her brain registered those last three sentences. Marriage... Marriage? ...MARRIAGE?! Before Sakura had known it, her fist found its place in Sasuke's face. The force of the blow sent him flying back into the stone wall. She wasn't Tsunade's student for nothing!

"SHANNARO!!! Who the _hell_ do you think you're talking to, Uchiha?! Did all that time in prison rot your brain?!" Her fist fell back to her side, thought she was clenching it and unclenching it. "In case you haven't noticed, I am a woman now--not some _fan girl _who thinks she's head over heels in love with you! I don't care for you like that _anymore_."

"You lie." Sasuke, who was standing behind her, unscathed, wrapped his arms around her waist, preventing her from moving. "If you didn't care for me like that anymore, you'd have punched my clone harder." As if right on cue, the Sasuke that was lying on the ground disappeared in a puff of smoke. "I'm just thinking of the future, Sakura. I know the only reasons I'm being kept alive is because of the Sharingan...and _you_."

Her eyes had widened. How did he find out? ". . ."

"I'll give you a choice." He whispered into her ear. "Yes? No?"

"I..." An image of Naruto flashed through her mind. "I need time, Sasuke." Sakura didn't need to look to know that Sasuke's eyes looked upset. His face, however, was blank. "I need to think it over for a while."

The Uchiha's arms removed themselves from her waist and fell back to her side. "...Fine. I could wait a day or two for an answer."

_'A day or two?!'_ Sakura screamed mentally. _'That's not enough time for something like **this**!!'_ "Sasuke!" She spun around to look at him, but found he had already gone. "Sasuke-kun..." What was she going to _do_?! She couldn't reject Sasuke--he might try to harm her! Well, that wouldn't be such a problem considering she could make demons like the Bijuu of yore and nukenin like the former Akatsuki seem like _nothing_ if she got upset. Plus, they were in Konoha. Any wrong he'd try would probably get him another 10 years of prison or more.

But...if she rejected him, would he just find another woman? Most of his former female fans had given up on him when they heard he ran away from Konoha. And when he came back, they all avoided him like the plague. In fact...Sakura was probably the only single female Sasuke talked to since he came back to Konoha. The pink-haired kunoichi groaned as her shoulders slumped.

**"I hear wedding bells!!"** Inner Sakura grinned like a madman in her mind.

**X-X-X**

That night, when Sakura came home to her apartment, she simply flopped down on the bed, still in her work attire. She had been walking around Konoha, trying to figure what to do about Sasuke for a good couple of hours. It was already past 10 o' clock, but she had a free day off tomorrow, so no problem. As her eyelids began to get droopy, she began to wonder about what she should do about Sasuke's proposal. When she closed her eyes, she expected that some sleep would rid her of the feeling she was getting.

"Pssst! Sakura-chan! Wake up!"

Boy, was she wrong... Sakura's eyes fluttered open and she found herself looking up at a blue-eyed blonde wearing an orange and black jumpsuit. She blinked as her vision became clearer, and gasped at who the blonde was. "Na... Naruto...?" _'Am I dreaming? I have to be dreaming!'_

"Good to see you, too, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he stepped back.

They were in the middle of a field, where the sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear with puffy white clouds. Except for Naruto and Sakura, it was completely devoid of life. As Sakura stood up, she noticed she was 15 years old again. _'Now I **know** this is a dream.'_

"So, how have ya been? I wanna know what happened after...you know..." The blonde scratched the back of his head.

"Naruto... Are you really here?" The pink-haired kunoichi arched an eyebrow.

"Hmmm... Well, yes and no." He began to stroke his chin in an intellectual manner. "It's kinda hard to explain." He stopped stroking his chin and held up one finger. "Well, I'm here in your dream, but in reality, I'm not physical. I think they said I'm just a spirit until they figure out what to do with me." Naruto folded his arms across his chest and squinted his eyes in a fox-like fashion. "I've been waiting for more than 10 years, already! I wish they'd just hurry up--I'm getting anxious. Oh!" He looked at Sakura again and grinned. "I saw Kakashi-sensei, you know! I'm surprised he's allowed to read his porno up here since it's supposed to be all pure and stuff..."

"That's...great, but didn't you say you wanted to know what's happened in Konoha?" Sakura asked as she placed her hands on her hips. For the moment, she'd play around in this dream world.

The blonde nodded frantically. "Yeah, yeah! I wanna know, I wanna know!!"

"Hmmm... Well, what is there to say?" The medic-nin began to count on her fingers. "Hinata-chan's dating someone, y'know. I met him once--he reminds me of you."

"R-really..." Naruto got a sad look on his face. He had rescued Hinata when she got an almost fatal injury and the Hyuga Heiress had spilled the beans about her admiration actually being a crush. He never got to tell her how _he_ felt about _her_, though. "That's good."

"Ino and Shikamaru actually got together and even got engaged a year ago, but..." Sakura's eyes got a sad look. "...He went MIA on a mission to Water Country. Ino's gotten over it, but she's not sure if she'll be dating for a while... Neji is in ANBU, now. Lee's got his own genin team--I feel sorry for those poor kids, because he's as bad as Guy was now. Oh, and Sai has a girlfriend."

"WHAT?! _Sai_?!!" The blonde exclaimed. "Since when could _Sai_ get a girl? I thought he was gay with how much he kept talking about my penis..."

"Yeah...it confuses _me_, too. But he told me that he simply did what the book told him to. Made a little small talk with a random girl at a restaurant who kept glancing at him, gave her a cute nickname and before I knew it, he said he had a date!" Sakura's lips quirked up into a smile. "Sai's changed--he can express himself much better, but he still has on that same smile and keeps calling me a hag!" A vein throbbed on her forehead as she said the last six words.

Naruto shielded his head with his hands--a force of habit that went on automatically every time he was alone with Sakura and the medic-nin got upset. "N-now, Sakura-chan! Easy, now! I may not be alive, but I _still_ get afraid of seeing you get mad. ...Anyway, I think it's time we get serious." He pointed a finger at Sakura. "I'm here to talk to you about your little Sasuke problem."

"Y-you know?!"

"Of course! That's the entire reason of why I'm here!" Naruto nodded. "I'm here to give you a suggestion. You don't have to follow it, but I'd appreciate if you did."

Sakura gave him a nod. "Go on."

"Well... This is gonna _kill me_ to say this, but...marry him."

"...Wait a minute, what?!" The kunoichi exclaimed. "What do you mean, _'marry him'?!_ I thought..."

"Hey, it's not like I _like_ the idea of you...and that bastard Sasuke...making out in a bed...! But, let's face it. Me, you, Kakashi-sensei...we're the closest thing Sasuke's had to family since Itachi murdered the clan. And you're the only one who still has a _pulse_, so it's up to you to make Sasuke happy." The orange-clad blonde folded his arms across his chest. "Besides, we don't want him being all angsty and cold and isolated till he's an old man, now, do we?"

"But marry him?! I don't know..."

"I know, I know. A jerk like him doesn't deserve someone like you..." He looked down at the floor and closed his eyes. "But...you're the only one left to make him happy. I mean...maybe you could give him a reason to live."

Sakura's emerald green eyes widened.

"My time's almost up, so let me say something to you. Um...I l-love you." He began to blush as he grinned. "I didn't get to say that to you before I died, so...I just wanted to let you know before you become _Uchiha Sakura_."

"A-are you...serious?" At the moment, she forgot that it was probably all a dream. The tone in Naruto's voice sounded too sad to _not_ be real. "I-I... I never got to tell you this either...but when you died. I felt something...break. There was a...a hole in my heart--not like when Kakashi-sensei died. This was like...when Sasuke left Konoha...13 years ago on that night." Naruto's eyes widened, but Sakura continued, "That's when it hit me. I think...I loved you...and I still do." Warm tears began to stream down the kunoichi's cheeks. She looked down at the ground and began to sob. "I couldn't save you...! It's all my fault...!"

Sakura suddenly felt arms wrap around her body and a voice whisper, "It's not your fault," into her ears. Her deceased teammate's eyes were dull as he looked down at the ground. "It's not _your fault_... Maybe...it was just my time to go. ...Sakura-chan, I'm sorry for making you cry again..." The only tears the blonde had wanted to see streaming down her cheeks were tears of happiness. "But promise me you'll think about what I said. Please?"

"Y-yeah..." Sakura whispered as she nodded her head. She felt his lips touch his lips. The touch...his scent...it _had_ to be real...! It just had to. "Naruto..." She heard him chuckle and felt a cold sensation overtake her body. He broke away from her and she saw that he seemed more transparent now than before.

He was fading away.

The blonde shinobi flashed her his characteristic grin "Maybe we'll see each again, someday. Not _too_ soon, I hope." Before either knew what was going on--before Naruto and Sakura knew what the _hell_ she was doing, the pink-haired girl tackled him to the ground and kissed his lips passionately.

Too bad she felt _nothing_--no heat or cold. But she should've known better--he was nothing more than a spirit, now.

"Naruto..." She pronounced, slowly, wanting to savor the moment she had left. Most of the dreams she had with Naruto in them were either replays of the times when they were genin and Team 7 was whole, or simply fantasies of things she _wished_ had happened back then. "Don't go... Don't leave again..." As her eyes fluttered open, Sakura saw the ceiling of her room. She was awake.

"It...was just a dream." The pink-haired woman stated as she sat up. Tears were still streaming down her face, but she wiped them on the sleeve of her shirt. The kiss was not real, but there was something that confused Sakura very much for the next hour:

Naruto's scent was still on her.

**X-X-X**

Later that day, Sakura found herself walking to the abandoned Uchiha section, towards the house where Sasuke lived. She pretended that she didn't notice or sense Neji and simply marched right in. The Godaime's apprentice soon found herself standing in front of Sasuke's room. She was about to open the door, but it opened from the inside.

It turned to be Sasuke, of course. "Sakura...what are you--"

"Yes." His ex-teammate interrupted, which made him arch an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Yes... I'll marry you." Sakura swore he was smirking--not physically, because his face was blank, but _mentally_. Or maybe her inner self's mad rants about being crazy for following advice from a dead boy--who was probably just a dream--were starting to get to her.

Sasuke leaned against the doorframe. "...All right. Meet me outside here at noon today."

"Huh?" The kunoichi blinked. "What for?" Was he going to give her some fancy ring to complement what Sakura hoped wasn't always going to be a loveless marriage? _'Would he even **care** to do something like that? I mean...this **is** Sasuke.'_

"We're going to get married."

"WHAT?! But...but...but...there are preparations to make! Invitations to send! I have to have a wedding dress!!!" _'Or did he already get all of that...? That's a creepy thought!'_

"We won't _need_ any of that. It's a small wedding."

_'I knew it.'_ "Wait a minute," Sakura arched an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip. "How small _is_ it?"

"Just I, you and Tsunade will know of this. Hyuga, too, if he's still keeping an eye on me."

"You noticed him, huh?" She shouted and cursed mentally at the raven-haired bastard. Such a small wedding?! And so soon! He'd probably tell her she couldn't tell anyone else of the event.

The Uchiha arched an eyebrow. "It's hard _not_ to."

"...Okay. I'll be back at noon. But, Sasuke...why did you choose _me_?" Her emerald green eyes stared into his onyx ones. "You could've chosen any other woman, but why me?"

Sasuke stared at her for a long time before he said, "Because you're the only woman I know I can trust."

Sakura's eyes widened a bit. He _trusted_ her? "Ah..." She just there with her mouth gaping open. The raven-haired Uchiha simply stared at her until she blinked and learned how to breathe again. "I'll...be going now." She spun around and walked away, saying, "Later, Sasuke-kun!" She heard his door shut quietly and her steps increased in speed.

"Man, this _sucks_..." Naruto muttered as he watched Sakura exit the Uchiha home. "I know I told her to go ahead and marry Sasuke...but now that I know...the thought of Sakura-chan and that bastard making out is killing me!!!" He held his head and began to shake it furiously. He had been trying to haunt Sasuke's dreams, but the Uchiha shook it off like he did the nightmares of his parent's deaths. It didn't help that the "Guys Upstairs" told him that the Sharingan could see spiritual chakra and he couldn't spend much time around him--because he _really_ wanted to scare the crap out of that Uchiha bastard as revenge for killing him!

"I swear, Sasuke! If you do anything to harm Sakura-chan, physically or emotionally, I'm gonna haunt you till the day that _you_ die!!!!" The blonde shouted as he shook a transparent fist at the Uchiha Mansion. Since Sasuke couldn't _hear_ him, he could just spout off curses all day. He was stuck in Konoha until the Guys Upstairs figured out what to do with him. And _that_ sucked even more than Sasuke and Sakura's..._marriage_ at noon today. "And that's only a couple of hours away... Damn bastard probably wants to get it over with so he can make little bastards..." For some reason, Naruto began to imagine pink-haired, Sharingan-eyed babies and began laughing. "AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I hope I'm around long enough to see Sasuke's expression to something like _that_! Heh-heh-heh..."

What sort of changes shall come in the future? Only time could tell, right?

**X-X-X**

**Blu: So, how was that? I'm planning on making this a two-shot for anyone who's interested in the idea. I have to admit, I like this story more than 1000 Paper Birds (just a little, though). I hope I get some good reviews for this. Well, stay tuned for the second and final part to "A Reason to Live". If it ever comes out... Ja ne!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Blu: The second part of "A Reason to Live" has finally arrived! We take a look into the future and see how much things have changed...**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters AT ALL!! They're Kishimoto-sama's property._

**X-X-X**

The wedding was not very impressive, in Sakura opinions. Hell, _anyone_ could see that, including the blonde spirit who followed the pink-haired woman and his best friend/rival/murderer on the way to their destination: a shrine somewhere in Konoha. The only living people there were Sasuke, Sakura, and Tsunade--who was there to make it official. The only one without a heartbeat or a pulse was Naruto, who kept muttering to himself about getting it over with. The thought that he could go somewhere else didn't pop up in his mind at all.

Sakura could tell Tsunade didn't like this union. The glances she would give to the raven-haired man beside her during her speech practically said, "Hurt her and you'll be executed." After the Godaime's speech, they both had to sign a document--one that would make forever husband and wife unless either one wanted a divorce. Sasuke then gave his new bride a small, quick peck on the cheek.

**"IS THAT IT?!!! THAT'S ALL?!!!"** Inner Sakura shouted.

Sakura herself was a bit upset. She wasn't expecting a _long, passionate _kiss...but just a simple kiss on the cheek? _'Clearly, he's not very romantic...'_

**"We're going to have to change that, won't we? When we get back to _our_ house, we should just _teach_ him how to properly kiss!"**

_'Eh?!'_ Her green eyes widened and a light tinge of red appeared on her cheeks. Sakura's new husband and her teacher looked at her as she stared off into space. After a few seconds, Sakura snapped out of her naughty fantasies and looked at Sasuke. "What are you looking at?"

"...Hn." Sasuke grunted. "Let's go back home. _Now_."

Inner Sakura began to giggle.** "Ooooh!! He wants to get started early and it's not even 1:00, yet!"**

_'Quiet, you!!!'_ Sakura shouted mentally. She suddenly noticed that Sasuke was holding her wrist and griping it tightly.

"Sakura..."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." With one last look at Tsunade, two of them walked away from the shrine.

"I don't think I wanna follow them..." Naruto mumbled, despite the fact that he was walking right beside the thin-lipped Uchiha. "Who _knows_ what they're gonna be doing."

Sakura stopped walking and turned her head to look up at Sasuke. "I just remembered: what about all my stuff back at my apartment? I can't just move in if the only things I have are what I'm wearing!"

". . ."

"Could we go over there to pick up what I need, Sasuke-kun?"

"Sure."

_'This is it... They're moving in together...'_ Naruto thought sullenly. "I wish I had a sense of taste... I could use some ramen to sooth this pain...!"

**X-X-X**

When the last of Sakura's possessions had been carried over to the Uchiha Mansion, dinner was made (courtesy of Sakura), and the two had taken a shower, night had already fallen. To Sakura, their _honeymoon_ was the same as the wedding--not what she had expected. The pink-haired woman was sure that Sasuke would try to make love to her on that night, but nothing happened. They hadn't done..._anything_, and while she was glad Sasuke wasn't quick to begin rebuilding his clan, she just _couldn't get to sleep!_ She lay awake in bed for hours as she stared up at the ceiling.

_'It's this house... It's so quiet and creepy... I don't know **how** Sasuke could withstand the silence!'_ Sakura thought as she stood up and pushed a stray, pink bang behind her ear. She wasn't used to this place yet. The only areas she had been in were the kitchen, the bathroom, Sasuke's old room and this one...the one his parents had slept in before they...you know. Other than that, she hadn't seen the rest of the house. "Maybe a little stroll will help me." The pink-haired woman spoke softly. It was late, but maybe that would help her get to sleep a little faster. She glanced down at her husband's sleeping form and noted how he looked so _peaceful_ when he slept.

Sasuke murmured something. Sakura's ears perked up as she focused a bit more on what he was saying. She blinked when he started to move around a bit, and before she knew it, the Uchiha had sat up, Sharingan eyes active with their wheels spinning around the pupil quickly. The wheels began to slow down. His red eyes changed back to his regular onyx ones as he looked up at his bride. "Sakura...? What are you doing?" He glanced at the clock on the dresser. It was going up to 12.

"Um... Nothing. Just going to the bathroom." The pink-haired woman noticed that he was beginning to rub his neck--and in the same area where Orochimaru's Curse Seal had been. "Is something wrong, Sasuke-kun? You look...pale." Not only that, but he was sweating and his breathing seemed labored. Did he have some sort of nightmare?

Sasuke frowned after he noticed Sakura was staring at him--or rather, at his neck--and stopped rubbing the area. "I'm fine. It's nothing." He saw Sakura gain a certain _look_ in her eyes, and before he knew it, the pink-haired woman had walked out the door, telling him not to get out of bed.

After a few seconds passed, the raven-haired man got out of bed, only to hear a cry of: "I said: stay in bed!!" from downstairs. As this amazed the Uchiha for a couple of minutes about this super hearing his new wife had obtained all of a sudden, Sakura walked back into the room and handed him a glass of water and two pills. "There. That should help you get to sleep."

Sasuke stared at the little white pills and arched an eyebrow. "What is _this_?"

"Those are sleeping pills. I usually have them for when I can't sleep." She admitted embarrassingly. Sakura had forgotten all about those pills until Sasuke had woken up, but when _she_ was lying awake for _hours_, she didn't remember? _'I guess all this marriage excitement rattled up my brain...'_ "Well, go on! Drink it!" She flashed that pretty smile of her's. "I'd never be able to live with myself if something bad happened to you on our wedding night." She blinked when she realized Sasuke was already drinking down the water.

"Thank you..."

"You're welcome."

Afterwards, both went back to bed, able to sleep peacefully. When Sakura woke up the next morning, she found Sasuke was holding her closely to her body. He was breathing lightly and seemed to be at peace. Ignoring the idea of trying to slip out of his hold, the pink-haired medical ninja went back to sleep, forgetting that she still had to go to work and that Tsunade would be furious.

**X-X-X**

Months after Sasuke had gotten his ninja license back, Sakura was already 5 months pregnant and was allowed the right to not partake in any missions because of her condition. He'd actually gone up in the rankings very quickly. By the time he made 26, he was already going to take his jonin exams and Sakura started to get a bit depressed.

If Sasuke became a jonin, he would be away from her more often to go on missions. She normally would think nothing of this--think that it was necessary for a jonin, for she herself was one and knew what had to be sacrificed--but it was this _child_ growing inside of her that made her a bit more emotional. Would he be here for their newborn son or daughter's birth? Would he _die_ before that could actually happen? Would he be around to watch them grow up, or would their child grow up, never knowing their father?

**"Get a hold of yourself, girlfriend!"** Inner Sakura shouted as she was sleeping in bed one night. Her husband had gone away on a mission a few days ago, so that meant she was all alone in the empty mansion. **"Sasuke wouldn't just leave you to raise his children all alone!! What kind of father would do that?!!"**

"Right..." Sakura spoke softly. It was okay, since no one was there to think she was crazy for talking to herself. Besides...being alone in this big, old house for most of the day made the kunoichi have conversations with her inner self more often when Ino wasn't visiting. "It's not like he doesn't care about his children... Doesn't care about _me_..." She tried to ignore the fact that Sasuke had never said "I love you," or any variation of it, or even a sign that he had affection for her since they'd been married months ago. Sasuke was simply _different_. He'd been through so many things in his life--such _painful, horrible things._ She couldn't expect him to say "I love you," as easily or as much as she did to him.

She sat up and placed a hand on her swelling stomach. A small smile appeared on Sakura's face, the moonlight shining at her. She changed the mental subject to her developing baby. Would it be a boy or a girl? If it was a boy, she prayed that he wouldn't have pink hair. While the thought was cute, the boy would probably be teased. But if the boy looked anything like _Sasuke_ did as a boy, the girl's would probably find him even _more_ cute!

Sakura couldn't help but giggle. "That'd be a shocker!" She began to think about possible daughters as the door slid open. Her bright green eyes looked at the door and found her husband standing in the doorway. He had a couple of bandages on him. In one hand, Sasuke was carrying a bag that was, most likely, filled with his stained clothing.

"What are you doing up so late?" Were the first words that came out of the raven-haired chunin's mouth.

"I couldn't sleep. I got hungry a little while ago, but I just woke up again..." Was it really that late? She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the clock on the dresser. It was going up to 12:30.

"Is that good for the baby?" Sasuke asked her as he sat down on the side opposite to hers.

"It's not necessarily _bad_..." Sakura gave a small smile. _'At least he cares for our child.'_ "So, how was your mission?"

"Fine." As curt as usual.

"...I was lonely with you gone, you know. Ino came to visit, but when I'm stuck in this house by myself...I get depressed, for some reason." _'It's just the baby. Right?'_

**"Right!"** Her inner self agreed. **"It's just...the baby."**

After a few moments of leaning back and staring at the covered bulge that was her child, the pink-haired woman noticed her husband was staring at her. "What are you looking at?"

"...Hn. Nothing." He lied down in the bed and inched a little closer to Sakura than he usually would. Just a _little_, though.

"...Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"Do you love me?" She asked her husband as she looked down at him. His back was turned to her, as though he didn't _want_ her to see his expression.

"...What do you think?" He told her, and Sakura honestly didn't know _what_ to think about that.

**X-X-X**

When Sakura gave birth to her's and Sasuke's first child months later, it was one of the happiest moments of her life.

"GET THIS FUCKING KID OUT OF MEEEEEEE!!!"

It was also one of the most _painful_ moments in her life as well. The pink-haired jonin was cursing up a storm as she clutched her jonin husband's hand, unaware of the fact that she might be crushing his hand. If she was, Sasuke was trying _very_ hard to make it seem like the pain is nothing.

"I see the head!" Shizune shouted over Sakura's shouting.

Naruto, who foolishly decided to stand behind/go through Shizune to find out what was going on, caught sight of what was going on between Sakura's legs. "HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!" His heart may have stopped beating if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't have a heart _to_ beat anymore. So the blonde ghost settled with staring at the head of what would probably be the first in a big line of Uchiha children. It was a damn _train wreck--_he couldn't just look away after surviving seeing it for the first time.

"GODDAMIT, SASUKEEEEEEEE!!!!" Sakura shouted as her grip on her husband's hand increased in power. "YOU'RE NEVER GONNA TOUCH ME AGAIN, YOU BASTARD!!!" Of course, that would be wrong. Because she would have to go through the miracle of birth four more times. And, of course, Sasuke wouldn't have use of a hand for a week or two afterwards...

But, in the end--when the cursing from Sakura had died down, and Sasuke was holding his hand and surveying the damage she'd done to it, and Naruto was able to blink again, Uchiha Naota came into the world. Sakura was a little upset, though. "He looks just like you," She told her husband with a pout.

Sasuke blinked in confusion and looked down at the baby boy. "...And you can tell that _how_...?"

"He has your hair." Just a few raven-black strands. "He has your eyes." He could barely open them, but the pink-haired woman saw they were onyx-colored. "He _scowls_ like you!"

The Uchiha head looked down at his son. He _was_ frowning. Sasuke arched an eyebrow and was about to say something, when...

"WAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

"But he's inherited his mother's loud voice!" Sasuke said, trying to speak above his son's wails.

"...What a happy moment...!" Naruto sniffled. A waterfall of tears streamed down his whiskered cheeks as Sakura tried to calm Naota down.

"Yeah, the miracle of birth will do that to ya." A familiar voice said beside him.

"AH!!" The blonde jumped a bit when he realized who was standing next to him. "Hey, Kaka-sensei! What're you doing here?"

"Just came by to see this _'beautiful'_ event." The silver-haired man's visible eye smiled. "How was the view?"

"It was horrible!!" Naruto shouted, ignoring the fact that his deceased sensei had seen him freak out. "I never knew babies were born like _that_!!"

"...Didn't Jiraiya-sama ever tell you about the birds and bees? The miracle of life?"

"Actually, all he did was talk to me about the sex. I kinda ignored it, though."

Kakashi sweatdropped. "Riiiight..." He glanced at the happy family, then looked back at Naruto. "Well, Naruto, you may be dead, but I'm going to tell you about the miracle of life." He whipped out a copy of a book that Naruto had never seen before called "Icha-Icha: The Bare Basics" and his eye smiled again. "Let's begin..."

"Dammit, I don't wanna hear about it like that, Kakashi-sensei!"

**X-X-X**

At the moment, 10 years after Sakura's first childbirth, they had four children: two sons named Naota (who acted similarly to his father) and Ichigo (who had _no_ pink hair, but Ichigo's dark hair had tints of darkened red), and two daughters named Mai (who was the spitting image of her grandmother Mikoto) and Hikari (who was like a clone of Sakura's from her looks to her chakra control to her powerful punches), and were expecting a fifth, soon. In all, the Uchiha children had been born safe and healthy. ...Well, most...

"Uh-oh." Shizune said, halting in her work.

"_'Uh-oh'?_ What _'uh-oh'_?" Sasuke asked, looking at the dark-haired medic-nin while his wife gripped his hand. After going through this four times, he'd gotten used to the pain.

"The baby's stuck. Unless we do a C-section, it's going to suffocate."

The Uchiha head's eyes widened. C-section? Sakura had mentioned that once--a woman who was in labor needed one, otherwise the child would die. Afterwards, the woman died.

_"It's sad to think that there's a slightly higher chance of the mother dying after a C-section,"_ Sakura had told him. _"I hope we never have to go through it."_

"Well?" Shizune asked. "What's it going to be?"

"Do it!" Sakura panted as beads of sweat ran down her face.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. "What--?"

"DO IT, DAMMIT!!!" She screamed, as her grip on Sasuke's hand got even tighter. _'I don't want to lose this child!!!'_

Her husband stared at her for a moment before looking at Shizune and nodding. The dark-haired medic told him to please go out into the waiting room, though Sasuke wanted to stay with his wife and she wanted the same. As he got outside, he noticed Ichigo was sleeping in a chair, his sister Mai leaning on him, and two year old Hikari was sleeping in Ino's lap. Naota, who had only made 10 a few months ago, was still awake, though his eyelids were getting droopy.

"How is she," Was the first thing Ino had asked Sasuke as she noticed him walking out of the delivery room. "Is she okay?"

"No..." The raven-haired man sat down on the seat next to Naota's. "They said she needs a C-section if the baby's gonna live."

Ino's eyes widened and Naota arched an eyebrow. "What's a C-section?"

"Um, you're too young to know what that is, Naota-kun." The blonde woman told the young boy. She ignored how he looked upset and simply stared at Sasuke. "She's really having a--"

"_Yes_." Sasuke was starting to get irritated. It was bad enough the child was born prematurely, now it _and_ his wife were in danger of dying. The next few hours seemed much longer to the two adults. Naota had long since fallen asleep when Sasuke had finally told Ino to take the kids home.

"Are you sure?" The Yamanaka woman had asked him as she carried Hikari in her arms.

"We wanna stay _here_!" Mai whined.

"And what about Mom?" Ichigo yawned.

Naota wasn't saying anything, but he'd folded his arms across his chest and practically glared at his father, he simply glanced at him, unfazed.

"You three are supposed to be in bed already. And _you_ two," Their father looked at Naota and Ichigo, "Have school tomorrow."

"Awww...!" Mai and Ichigo whined. When their father said something, it was final. No ifs, ands or buts on their side.

Half an hour passed after Ina had left with his children afterwards. The clock in the waiting room showed it was 10 minutes till 10:30. Sasuke kept praying that his wife and newborn child would both come out of this alive. A few minutes afterwards, Shizune walked out of the delivery room, still wearing a smock that was covered in blood. The Uchiha head looked at her expectantly, as if asking the medic if everything was all right.

Shizune smiled and told him, "Sakura-chan is all right. The surgery was a success. Oh, and congratulations, it's a boy--!" She didn't get to say more, as Sasuke had already walked past her. "Well, it's nice to see he's changed from how he was as a kid." She said as Naruto walked right through her, causing her to shiver a bit.

Sakura was lying in bed, sleeping. She deserved it well enough, considering the hell of a birth she was put through. Her face was drenched in sweat and she was breathing heavily. Deciding to give her rest, Sasuke instead went to look at newborn son, whom she was cradling in her arms even as she slept. The child was much smaller than their other children had been when they were born. But, then again, he _was_ born months ahead of time.

"Sa-su-ke?" Sakura croaked out, still tired from the birth.

"Ssshhh..." The raven-haired man placed a hand on her forehead. "Rest."

"How's the...baby?" She whispered.

"You're holding him."

"Oh... I forgot..." His pink-haired wife turned her head slightly to look at their baby boy. "We haven't named him yet."

"Name him after me! Name him after me!!!" Naruto shouted from beside Sasuke. He'd forgotten all about the fact that he couldn't be heard unless she was dreaming.

"We can do that tomorrow. You need to rest." Sasuke repeated. "You worried me too much for one night. Now...go to sleep."

"Sasukeeee..." Sakura whined, sounding a bit like a child. Sure, she _was_ tired and it was nice to know _she_ had worried _Sasuke_ for once, but she wanted to name her son _now_. Call it being stubborn, but it was simply what she did. "...Zen."

"What?" Both the raven-haired Uchiha and the deceased blonde stared at her.

"Zen." Sakura repeated. "That's his name."

Sasuke blinked. "Zen?"

"Yes, Zen. Is there a problem with that?"

"...Hm." Translation: "No."

"Awww! I would've liked it if he was named _'Naruto'_!" Naruto pouted as walked over to Sakura's bedside. "Zen's not such a bad name, but still..." He tried to tickle the baby with his finger, knowing by now that the child wouldn't feel.

Boy, was he wrong. Baby Zen squirmed around a bit and began to mewl in confusion, eyes still closed and his little hand trying to touch the reason for the cold sensation. The blonde spirit drew his hand back in time and began to stare at the little raven-haired child. "I thought the living weren't supposed to see or feel the dead!"

Sakura looked down at the moving baby boy in her arms and gave a small smile. "What's the matter, honey? Do you want to see Daddy?" Zen continued to squirm around a bit before he settled down and seemed to go back to sleep. "Ah, still tired, huh?" The pink-haired woman giggled before her husband placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura."

"I know, I know. I'll go to sleep."

"No... I wanted to say..." Sasuke paused to find the right words. "...I'm glad nothing happened to you during the surgery. I'm glad you're alright." He didn't _look_ glad to his wife, but that was probably the closest she was going to get. The raven-haired man placed a kiss on her forehead and Sakura felt a feeling of happiness well up inside of her.

_'Sasuke...'_ She closed her eyes mumbled something under her breath, hoping that he didn't hear her.

**X-X-X**

Naruto _hated_ the guys upstairs. He still didn't know what was going to happen to him, but they sure kept him waiting a long time--over 50 years to be exact. Since then, he'd seen close friends of his grow older, their children grow up and their children's children, had been to their funerals and...and... "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!" He jumped off of the roof of the building he was lying down on and landed on the ground. He began to walk to the hospital, walking through people several people as he did. And _why_ was the blonde ghost upset? Besides the Higher-Ups seemingly forgetting about him?

Sakura was ill. _Very_ ill. And likely to...to... God, he couldn't even _think_ about it!! Not his Sakura-chan! She was too resilient! Or at least...that's what he _wanted_ to think. True, with time, reputation would increase but skill and health would _de_crease. And, unfortunately, the same could be said for Sasuke and Sakura. It's just...with all the missions _Sasuke_ came through severely injured, he thought the bastard would be the one to go first. A part of the blonde wondered if the thought wasn't because he still loved her--even though she couldn't love him from beyond the grave.

Before Naruto knew it, he was in the hospital, standing in front of the door of Sakura's room. He hesitated to go into the room. He still didn't want to face the fact that Sakura would most likely die. _'Why'd she have to be stubborn? Why didn't she go to the hospital when she knew she was sick? Or try to figure out something to counter it? She was smart enough to do that!'_ The blonde turned his head to see half of the Uchiha children--no longer children, but strong shinobi of Konoha with children of their own. Naota had been there for a couple of hours supporting his father before he had to go back to work--being the captain of an ANBU squad was not an easy task. Ichigo was on a mission _somewhere_ in Fire Country, and probably didn't know about his mother being in the hospital. His wife was there, though, with their two twin boys a while ago. Mai was sitting in a chair, a baby in her arms and her husband Haseo sitting next to her with an arm around her shoulders. Between work and filing, Hikari would be the one there the most since she worked in the Konoha Hospital. Whenever she walked into that room, it wasn't just to check up on her mother, but on her father as well.

From the moment Sakura had become ill, Sasuke refused to leave her side. It took Hikari and a group of doctors and nurses to tell him he couldn't stay the entire night. And even though he left, he'd come back the next day and stay there until visiting hours were over. He hardly ate, making his daughters worry about his health. No wonder Mai and Hikari tried to check in on him when he wasn't visiting the hospital. It was only right. They wouldn't want their father to get ill just after their mother.

And where was Zen? The child whom Naruto would call his favorite because he reminded him a bit of himself--wanting to be different from his older brothers and sisters, acknowledged for doing good work without being compared to them or his parents, wanting to become a great ninja simply to prove to his parents that he was not a fragile and sickly boy? Well...he was dead. That's what everyone _thought_. He went MIA on an S-class mission--his very first one, just months before the birth of his second son. His body was nowhere to be found, so they simply assumed that he was now dead and the enemy had managed to capture a Sharingan-less Uchiha. Come to think of it, Sakura got sick months after Zen was presumed dead. She had cried so much and was filled with so much grief...perhaps it was the loss of her baby boy that partly caused her to get sick.

Biting his lower lip, Naruto walked into the room and observed the sight in front of him. It was the same as before--Sasuke sitting by Sakura's bedside, occasionally muttering something that was probably meant for his wife's ears and holding her hand. The both of them had aged, and no longer looked like the Sasuke and Sakura he knew in his childhood. Hair now silver-gray, bones brittle and one of them had failing eyesight while the other could probably die at any moment.

Naruto almost felt sorry for Sasuke. If it was possible, the blonde would think he hadn't actually fallen in love with the ill woman until years into their marriage. Now he was going to lose her to an illness--to _death_.

"Crap... Why'd you guys have to leave me down here to see _this_?" Naruto muttered as he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked to the bedside opposite to Sasuke. "Seeing my friends die...dead or alive, it still hurts like _hell_..."

"Sakura..." He heard Sasuke speak softly as his grip on the woman's hand lessened. His hand made its way towards her hair--faded pink and gray streaked--and pushed some stray strands of hair out of her face. The old Uchiha stared at her, not saying anything more. His face was unreadable, but his eyes weren't. From the way he was looking at Sakura, Naruto could tell he didn't want her to die as much as he did. Maybe he really _did_ love her now.

"...Sa...suke..." Her eyes opened slowly. They no longer held the sparkle they had when she was a girl, nor the happy look that was in them before this accursed sickness took its hold on her. "...You look horrible."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed a bit. "You're one to talk."

She smiled the only way Naruto knew _she_ could smile and stared at him for a while. "Sasuke... Are you going to be okay?"

The retired shinobi arched an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"When I...die?"

He began to frown. You didn't have to look at his eyes to see he was upset. "Sakura, you are _not_ going to die."

Sakura's smile disappeared and she took a breath. "I mean it. Could you at least promise something for me?"

"...What?"

"Keep living after I die..." The retired kunoichi smiled again. "Please? Do it for me..." She started to cough and covered her mouth. Her once bright emerald-colored eyes stared into his onyx ones.

"You're not going to die." It may have been his stubbornness talking, but Sasuke honestly didn't want her die. Like Naruto, he thought he would go before her. He almost didn't know _why_ he was upset at this--he had probably seen people die over a hundred times. So why was the thought of losing Sakura so frightening? _'I don't want to be alone, again_...

Sakura frowned. "Don't be stubborn!" She coughed again and Sasuke's eyes widened, as did Naruto's. "I'm sure Hikari-chan's told you about it... I could probably die any day now." The old woman began to sit up with some difficulty, only to be assisted by her husband. Since when did such simple movement become hard for her? "But if it makes you feel any better, I'm afraid, too. I... I don't want to die, but I can't help it. I can't change it."

Sasuke was silent. Naruto's eyes reflected sadness. She was going to die. And both of them were powerless to stop that from happening.

"Sasuke...I have something I want to ask you."

"Hm?"

"Do you love me?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you asking such a stupid question?" _'And at a time like this?'_

"Because you've never said it once during our marriage."

"...What do you think--?"

"I want to hear something from _you_. In _your_ words." His wife laid back down and continued to stare at him. "Please... I just want to know before I die."

"...Yes. I love you. With all my heart and soul." Sasuke took her hand and held it. "And...I don't want you leave me."

She started to smile again. "There. Was that so hard?"

The door suddenly opened and Hikari walked into the room. "Visiting hours are over, Dad. It's time for you to go home."

"Hn." He looked at his daughter from the corner of his eye and grabbed the cane that was resting next to Sakura's bedside before standing up. "Good night," He told her before stepping out of the room, knowing very well that his daughter would want to walk him home.

"How are you holding up, Mom?" The pink-haired woman asked.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"...Alright... Good night." And with that, she left and closed the door.

Sakura closed her eyes, feeling bad about not telling her daughter about the pains in her chest; about not telling Sasuke that Naruto had been coming into her dreams since the day before they married. But she was just glad to know that her husband loved her--even if it happened during their marriage.

She passed away on that night, and Naruto was there to see it...

**X-X-X**

"So, now what do we do? Just..._stay _here...?"

"We're waiting for Sasuke."

"But, Kakashi-sensei! Who _knows_ how long it'll take that bastard to die? He's so stubborn that he'll probably live up to 100!"

"NARUTO!!! Don't you _dare_ call Sasuke a bastard!!"

"OW!! But, Sakura-chan, it's true!!"

"Hmph!" Sakura folded her arms across her chest as she, Kakashi, and Naruto stood in the Uchiha Mansion, looking at the sleeping Sasuke. All three ghosts looked the same as they did when Sasuke had been brought back to Konoha. She wondered how he'd react when he found out she was dead?

"Don't worry, Sakura. I'm sure we won't be waiting long..." Kakashi reassured the deceased kunoichi with a wave of his hand.

"That doesn't make me feel any better, sensei!!!"

Sasuke opened his eyes and sat up. He rubbed the spot where the Orochimaru's cursed seal had been, causing Sakura to frown.

"I _knew_ he was still having those phantom pains! He lied to me!"

"Hn..." The Uchiha looked to the side where his dead team was standing. Naruto and Sakura jumped a bit, ready to tell him it was all just a dream when he muttered, "I'm getting old... I'm starting to hear things..." He went back to sleep, somewhat more serene as the deceased members of Team 7 looked at him.

"...I guess I can wait a few more years for us to be together again." Naruto said as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Yeah..." Sakura walked over to Sasuke and stroked his cheek. "We'll be together again soon, Sasuke-kun..."

**The End**

**X-X-X**

**Blu: What a way to end a story, huh? This thing must suck, but I kinda like how it ended (except maybe the last scene. That one was forced inspiration). Please review and tell me what you think! Pretty please?!?**


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